All Chapters of Dear Ex Wife, I Want You Back : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

~ Sophia ~"Smile bigger, Sophia. People are taking pictures."Damien didn't even look at me when he said it. His hand pressed against my back, guiding me through the crowd like I was a suitcase he had to deliver without dropping. I smiled the way I practiced in the bathroom mirror: show your teeth, keep your eyes bright, and hide everything you actually feel."Better," he muttered.Then he was gone.His hand was still on my dress, but his eyes were already across the giant room, locked on a bunch of men in dark suits. That was Damien. He gave you just enough attention to keep you standing, and then he pulled the rug out."Mrs. Laurent!" A woman with giant diamond rings grabbed my elbow. Her skin felt like ice. "Your husband told us you used to be a nurse. How sweet.""Yes," I said. "Three years in the emergency room."Right on cue, Damien’s hand slid off my back. He walked away in fast, long steps, shook another man’s hand, and laughed out loud. It was a loud, warm, friendly laugh. I

~ Sophia ~"You're leaving." Maria's cloth stopped mid-swipe against the glass table, her eyes dropping to the suitcase in my hand. "Does Mr. Laurent know?""He knows enough," I said. I set the suitcase down long enough to hug her, quick and hard, and felt her arms tighten around me like she wanted to say more and had decided against it."Goodbye, child," she said, and let go first.I walked back into the dining room where the blue folder sat on the long mahogany table. My hand shook as I reached for the pen. I stared at the front page, my mind racing. Did Damien really want this? Did he truly want to throw away three years because of a fight with his brother?I looked up when I heard the sharp click of heels on the marble floor. Vivian walked into the room, her coat already on, her face perfectly composed. She stopped when she saw me standing over the paperwork with my suitcase by my side."Still here, Sophia?" Vivian asked, her voice dry and cold. "I thought I made it clear that the

~ Sophia ~Three weeks had passed since I left the Laurent Estate. I stood on the balcony of my small, rented apartment in Monterra Bay, California. The air smelled of salt and wet sand, not the heavy rose polish of Ashbourne Heights. Below me, the water of the bay moved slowly in the morning light. It was blue, quiet, and belonged to nobody. I took a sip of my coffee. I had made it myself in a cheap electric pot. I put two full spoonfuls of white sugar into the blue ceramic mug. Back in the Laurent house, Vivian always told me that sugar was bad for my skin. She said a Laurent wife should only drink green tea without honey. I stirred the coffee anyway, watching the white crystals disappear into the dark liquid. I drank it while it was still hot. For the first time in three years, I did not have to wait for anyone's permission to sit down. The sliding glass door behind me squeaked as I pushed it open. I walked into the kitchen and set the empty mug on the sink. My phone vibrated on

~ Sophia ~The salt air in Monterra Bay always smelled best at seven in the morning. It was sharp, cold, and clean—entirely different from the heavy, suffocating scent of lilies and floor wax that drifted through the east wing of the Laurent Estate.I stood on my small rented balcony, my hands resting flat over my stomach. I was five months along now. Under my oversized grey sweater, the gentle curve of my belly was finally starting to show. My body felt different. It felt heavier, slower, but somehow more solid than it ever had when I was trying to make myself invisible for the Laurent cameras. My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter behind me. I walked inside, sliding the glass door shut.It was a text from Julian: *The meeting with the Sutter Group partners is set for ten. Are you ready?**I am ready,* I typed back. *See you in the lobby.*I made myself a simple breakfast of dry toast and half a cup of decaf coffee. I didn't rush. The silence of the apartment was a luxury I still ha

~ Damien ~Twenty long months had passed since Sophia packed her bags and left the estate. I sat alone in my massive office at Laurent Technologies, the clock on the wall showing nearly midnight. I barely left the building before the early hours of the morning anymore. My home in Ashbourne Heights was too quiet now. Every time I walked down those long, empty hallways, I remembered the faint sound of her footsteps, the way the house had felt less cold when she was in it. I remembered the worn blue notebook she had left behind on her windowsill, the one I carried with me everywhere now, its pages soft from being read too many times.My desk was covered in paperwork and thick financial reports, but I wasn't reading them. I was staring blankly at the bright city lights of Westbridge through the floor-to-ceiling glass, the same view I had looked at for years without ever really seeing it. The silence of the office pressed in around me, heavy and familiar, the way it always did after everyo